Tek daydreams about building a new PC (again)

Tek7 said:
I prayed before placing the order, asking God to place a roadblock in my way if it wasn't the right time to order.

I added the items to my cart on Newegg.

I clicked to checkout.

And the RAM had been removed from my cart, with the error "G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL has been removed from shopping cart due to quantity limitation/insufficient stock. Some combo items might be affected by this."

/sigh

Well, it's not the answer I wanted, but it is an answer. :)
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God obviously wanted you to buy an AMD-based system.
 
Okay, so I just now realized that the mainboard I picked out has no IDE port...and I only have my 120GB SSD and 2 IDE drives (one 160GB, one 200GB).

Can anyone recommend an awesome, reliable, and reasonably priced 1TB or 2TB (or 3TB if reliable, but I haven't found any that match that description) SATA hard drive?
 
The RAM I chose went up $15 and the mainboard I had picked up went up $35. The video card I chose still isn't in stock after 2 weeks.

/sigh

Here's hoping there's another decent sale some time soon...
 
And I think I've settled on this for the RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10B - $60 after promo code for 16GB RAM (which might come in handy if I ever want to run VMs).

EDIT: Okay, here's a current theoretical system build:

Total so far: $415

I plan on using the ShopRunner free trial to get free 2-day shipping on everything. :)

And I still haven't decided on a video card, but I hope to soon (or wait until post-Christmas sales).

Thoughts? Suggestions?

EDIT#2: Here's the link for the mainboard product page.
 
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Going to add everything up in one post:
Grand total: $810 after rebates

Ouch. Maybe I need to stop and re-think this. Yet again.

Keep in mind I already paid $60 for a 120GB SSD, $110 for a 2TB SATA drive, and $38 after rebate for a power supply. I decided to use the same case because I still <3 it, but that still brings the total for all parts purchased to $1018 after rebate.

The computer I have now plays most games I have and it's an awesome gift from all the people who contributed parts. I'd really like to have something current for the first time in at least 6 years and I'd like to be able to play NS2 and GW2 on high at full frames, but I don't know if I can justify over a thousand dollars to make that happen.

I vacillate between getting really excited about FINALLY having a shiny new PC and feeling guilty for spending that much money on something that's not really essential. I can afford the upgrades (otherwise I wouldn't even be looking at them), but spending this much money is difficult when it's necessary. When it's not strictly necessary, I seem to run into a roadblock.

And then I post about it on the forums over and over again. This is, what, the third time I've spec'd out CPU/mainboard/RAM upgrades? The fourth?

I'll be honest: I don't want to wait any longer to upgrade my PC. But I'm at least going to take tonight, pray about it, and see how I'm led. I know to some it may sound silly to pray about such things, but my wife and I usually pray when we're considering spending this much money. (We did the same when it came time to buy a new laptop for my wife.)

So I ask that you all pray with me for guidance and peace with whatever decision I make. And thank you all for tolerating my indecisiveness. The inevitable result of wrestling with the tension between wanting new shiny stuff and wanting to spend wisely is at least mild frustration. :)
 
If you do go through with building that rig, you will totally forget about the $1000 when you compare the two machines running side by side(if you will be able to do that). I remember when I built this one(2 years ago), was just over $900 and it is still a rocking machine(don't even have the need to O/C it yet). It's not so hard to justify the cost once you have compared it to a "big box" PC in specs and longevity.


BTW: wear a chin strap on the first few boot ups, you'll need it to keep your chin from hitting the floor :D
 
CowRocket said:
If you do go through with building that rig, you will totally forget about the $1000 when you compare the two machines running side by side(if you will be able to do that). I remember when I built this one(2 years ago), was just over $900 and it is still a rocking machine(don't even have the need to O/C it yet). It's not so hard to justify the cost once you have compared it to a "big box" PC in specs and longevity.
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I don't think I'd be at all disappointed in the end results (in fact, I'm quite confident it would be a rockin' PC) and I don't even think I'd feel like it was a "waste" of money because I'm sure it'll get plenty of us. I just don't yet feel a "release" to make the purchases. I don't know why, but so far, when I pray about it, I get the sense that I'm being told to wait...which is exactly what I don't want to hear. ^^;;

On a side note: I'm re-thinking my choice of mainboard after it dropped from 4 eggs to 3. I've suffered enough mainboard trauma to last me a lifetime already, so I want to be confident that whatever I buy will work out of the box and for years to come. I tend to keep my hardware long past its prime and I would expect every part I purchase to last a minimum of 5 years.
 
Prayin for ya. I wish I could say I've prayed about a lot of the larger purchases I've made, prayer is very important.
 
Comparison
My MSI 7850 runs GW2 and NS2 just fine, I don't see a point paying $25 for extra stream processors and a little higher core clock.
Use Newegg to "piece" your PC together but try to find those same parts sold and shipped by Amazon, you don't have to pay for shipping if you go with Super Saver shipping. That's what I did and all of the parts came to me safely without damage and for cheaper than Newegg was selling them for.

P.S. Don't worry too much about how many "eggs" those PC parts have. Check out reviews from www.vortez.net or www.motherboards.org if you're worried about a part, You can also ask about a part on the Tom's Hardware forums.
EDIT: Attached photo of the GFX card I have, the picture on the Newegg site is an older version of the card.
Untitled.jpg
 
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Tek, you are as bad as me trying to buy cameras or phones - always waiting for that next level up to drop into my price-range...lol

I learned in my 30's that whatever I get - six months later everything will be better. Accept it and get what you want now and enjoy it...it makes life much easier.
 
Abba San said:
Tek, you are as bad as me trying to buy cameras or phones - always waiting for that next level up to drop into my price-range...lol

I learned in my 30's that whatever I get - six months later everything will be better. Accept it and get what you want now and enjoy it...it makes life much easier.
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Amen, particularly in the tech world.
 
Tek7@Work said:
I haven't forgotten about the upgrades, but I still have a "gut check" telling me to wait.
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So on my home last night, I stopped by the shop where my wife and I get our oil changed and asked if a mechanic could figure out why I've been smelling burning oil after driving for a while the last few weeks. Turns out the repairs will probably cost $500+.

Now I think I know why I was getting that gut check to hold off on the upgrades...

Maybe after I pool all my Christmas gift money later this month with what I have left over from last year, I can get the mainboard, CPU, and RAM. :)
 
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